Masteries

Offense:
4

Defense:
5

Utility:
21

Introduction

Hi! My name is Old Man Winter, and this is my guide to Nami The Tide Caster. But first, a little about myself. I just recently reached Gold V after starting the season in Bronze III, and I owe this huge jump to my girl Nami, and the build strategy you see above. I've been playing League of Legends for just under two years now and my knowledge of the game is always growing. This is my first guide on League, but I thought providing the community with a guide on a champion I feel passionate about might allow other players who are struggling to climb out of Bronze or Silver, or any division for that matter, a few of my tips and tricks on how to play Nami, and support in general.

Understanding Support

Support is not the flashiest role in the game. Many people you see in champion select refuse to play support, and threaten to "troll" if they are forced to play this position. I took it upon myself to learn this role, because I personally believe that the support, though not the stand out carry of the game like a 20 and 0 Draven , is just as crucial, if not more important, to the team. League of Legends is about working together as a team. Anyone who has ever played League of Legends knows that working together with four other players can be near impossible if someone loses their cool and begins to "Rage". But what does that have to do with Support?

The Support's job is one that most players in lower ELO take for granted. The support provides the glue that keeps a team together. One crucial role a support provides is vision, the ability to show an otherwise invisible area of the map, when they ward. The Support is also the one attempting to keep their ADC alive so that he or she can focus all of their attention on last hitting creeps in order to purchase their damage items for later in the game. Without a support in the bottom lane, an ADC wouldn't stand a chance. However, that isn't where the support's job ends.

A Support's job is also to lock down a fed enemy champion, so that they cannot kill your allies.
Nami, in my opinion, is one of the best supports in League of Legends right now because of her kit. Aqua Prison and Tidal Wave are two abilities that Nami possess that are outstanding in terms of locking down an enemy. Aqua Prison is a bubble that, when used on an enemy champion, lifts them into the air immobilizing them from attacking. Tidal Wave (Nami's Ultimate) is a massive wave that knocks up, slows down, and inflicts damages on enemies in its path.

You might still be wondering what makes the Support such a crucial weapon in the game. This is where I find that Support is the most fun role to play. Nami's Bubble can lock down any champion, sometimes multiple champions if it hits at the right time; which means that no matter how fed an enemy carry might be, a perfectly timed Aqua Prison can immobilize that champion, and give your team the advantage they need to kill and start a comeback. There is nothing more satisfying than a huge comeback win. Perhaps your teammates were raging, "/ff at 20" . We all know the common terms of giving up. However, I have turned more games around in my team's favor by keeping my cool, reassuring my team, and landing my skill shots with Nami that provided the opportunity to show my team the light at the end of the tunnel and turn those flaming rants of surrender, into positive reassurances for VICTORY .

Pros and Cons

Every champion has their pros and cons. Nami is no different. Something to understand right away is that Nami is a high skill cap champion. For her crowd control (Aqua Prison) to be useful, you have to be able to "land a Bubble". That being said, with practice you'll hit more than you miss and move your way up the ELO ladder, I guarantee it.

Pros

1. Great Crowd Control (High Skill Cap) 2. Sustain in Lane 3. Ability to turn any game in your favor 4. Great Peel 5. Works great in many team comps 6. Strong Synergy with champions like Yasuo

Cons

1. Unreliable Crowd Control (Have to land those Bubbles) 2. Low health, makes her easy to kill early 3. Watch your manna if you are playing very aggressively

Understanding a champion's weaknesses is how you truly master them. You will always miss a bubble, sometimes when you REALLY needed to hit one. However, if you have the determination to pick yourself up, and keep doing your best, you'll land that one bubble that can increase your team's odds of winning the game. That is the key to support, League in general, and life.
Nami's early game low health has lead me to choose the following runes in order to give her the boost she needs to survive the beginning of the game.

Runes

Runes are very important when it comes to giving your champion that little extra edge at the early stages of the game. Runes can always be swapped around, based on your preferred play style, but the following runes are based on how I like to play Nami, with a few changes based on comments I have received. Feel free to change these runes around based on whatever you are most comfortable with.

Greater Quintessence of HealthX1/ArmorX2

Using the Health Quints on Nami boosts her starting health and adding the extra armor will allow her to survive poke for an extended period of time. By staying alive longer, you will be able to sustain your ADC and keep them in lane.

Greater Glyph of Ability Power

When it comes to Glyphs, I like to run AP on Nami to give her an added 11 ability power at the start of the game, and an added 5 if you buy Spellthief's.

Greater Seal of ArmorX2/HealthX7

Combining the added armor and health in your seals on top of the armor and health from your Quints will provide optimal protection for Nami. This setup will allow for an increase of 10.52 Armor and 82 Health. Thank you to Vynertje for crunching the numbers and giving the feedback.

Greater Mark of Hybrid Penetration

Greater Mark of Hybrid Penetration

Nami is a special support in that she has her 'W', Ebb and Flow which does magic damage, and her 'E', Tidecaller's Blessing which is an auto attack buff that deals bonus magic damage and slows the enemy target. These two abilities are why I choose the hybrid pen marks, so that both your skills are utilizing the maximum amount of penetration possible.

Alternate Runes

With the great feedback I have been receiving, I wanted to throw in an alternate Rune's strategy. As I said above, Runes are always interchangeable based on play style and desire of lane phase. However, this setup has been a repeating comment, and certainly something I am going to try for myself. Keep in mind that based on how you want to play, you can throw in AP Quints as well as AP Seals if you want to hit harder and heal more early on. Feel free to fiddle around and comment anything you find to be productive.

Thank you for the feedback on Runes: Vynertje, FalseoGod, and Wicked Eye

Masteries

These are the Masteries I run on Nami. 4 Offense 5 Defense and 21 Utility:

Offense: I take four points in offense to allow for a +5% cooldown reduction. More Bubbles = more assists. Enough said.

Defense: The five points I take in Defense are to reduce damage taken from the ADC and to add a little passive health regen while sitting in lane.

Utility: My utility page is the same as a generic support utility page. Make sure you put the required points in for your Culinary Master . This will allow you to turn your health pots into manna and health all in one item. This will help you save money, because you wont need to buy manna and health potions separately.

This is the order that I take Nami's abilities:
I like to take Ebb and Flow first because of the ability to poke and heal at level 1. However, do not take your first ability until you are actually in your lane. I recommend you hold off because there is always an opportunity to land an Aqua Prison during an enemy or ally invasion. Regardless, take one or the other as your first two levels. If you are getting bullied hard, take your third level in Ebb and Flow, otherwise place your third level in Tidecaller's Blessing. Something that I do that other Nami guides do not, is max my 'E' (Tidecaller's Blessing) after Ebb and Flow instead of the typical Aqua Prison. I do this because of the ability to poke harder with your 'E'. Your Bubble, Aqua Prison, only reduces in cooldown by one second per level increase, so by building tanky you want to be able to poke more and try to push out your opponents.

Ranked

As I mentioned before, I climbed from Bronze III to Gold V this season thanks to Nami. My build strategy has been tested, as seen from just one chunk of my match history below.Ranked can be a very stressful time in League of Legends. Keeping your composure is the key to winning your lane and winning the game. Remember, in Ranked, vision is key. Keep up your ward placements and keep track of objectives like Dragon and Baron. If you are falling behind, keep your jungle entrances warded so that you know when the enemy has invaded your side of the map. If you are on the offensive push, place wards in positions like the enemy's Red and Blue buffs. As support, it is not your job to get kills. Your job is to peel for your ADC and other carries. Supports that steal kills and build full damage have their time and place, but this guide, and my way of playing Nami, is based on keeping yourself alive to keep your team alive.

Conclusion

If you can land two Bubbles in one team fight, then your team is more than likely going to come out on top. Support is the forgotten hero when it comes to League of Legends. Don't play Support if you want to be in the spotlight; play support because you want to help build up your team and carry from the shadows. I hope you enjoyed my guide to the Champion Nami . If you have any input, questions, or advice, please leave a comment below. I hope this guide can help you reach your goals in Ranked, or just help you improve your skills in general as a support. Thanks for reading!

League of Legends is a team based, real time strategy game set in a mythical world of swords & magic where epic battles decide the fate of mystical nations. Game players take on the role of a Summoner who conjures and controls champions to fight for them at the Institute of War. During game play champions gain experience and items to enhance their skills and abilities. How players develop and play their champions can be the difference between a crushing defeat or a glorious victory!